THE VANISHING
Songs for Psychotic Children (Gold Standard Labs)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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It's impossible to listen to this and not think of Siouxsie and the Banshees, not to mention the rest of the synth-goth bands that came out in the early '80s. Not only do the vocals (courtesy of Jesse Eva) remind me of Siouxsie's eerie, emotionless wail, but the arrangements are similar, too, with vintage-sounding, non-MIDI keyboards droning along in the background like something out of a B-movie, spooky sound effects, minimal guitar leads and muted percussive accompaniment. A lot of parallels can be drawn between these songs and those of twenty years ago lyrically, too, as they utilize much of the imagery that Bauhaus, Siouxsie, and Sisters of Mercy did in their prime, such as psycho wards, pseudo-Arthurian references, and all sorts of scary creatures of the night. Being a huge fan of this stuff when I was a kid, there's a part of me that's super happy to see to see this stuff coming back into the main swing of things, but damn if it doesn't make me feel old.

© 2003 - Holly Day